new this morning a big vote expected in berkeley tonight. could guantanamo detain tees get a formal invitation to come here and stay a while? i'm christie smith and will have that live report. and we are explaining why you may not want to wait to build your spring wardrobe despite the weather. and a live look outside. it is very wet out there. it is tuesday, february 15th. this is "today in the east bay."

good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. it is 4:30. we'll get started with a wet forecast and christina loren. a powerful storm is moving in this morning. yes, more rain on the way. we did pick up a little bit yesterday, but the big-time storm for the week is on the way heading through today and tonight. right now we do have showers coming down in the east bay. the east bay is seeing the bulk of the moisture right now. showers in livermore, hayward, oakland and antioch. that's the case throughout today, but the bulk is coming through over the course of tonight. we'll break it down for you and time it out coming up. right now we'll check the commute. it is a little slick out there, huh, mike? after the rain subsides we'll still have water on the road and puddling. when i came down from fremont this morning, things were cleared and then i got a lot of spray on my windshield as well as sprinkles. keep that in mind. the commute will start off the antioch early. 64 will drop down, but right now

we have a smooth drive over to highway 4 and over near the venetian and cartinas bridges. livermore is also going to show the early slowing near 6:00. 5:45 is when the speeds will dip there. right now you are at the limit heading to the dublin interchange. no major interruption through castro valley. this is a nice set of speeds approaching the maze. we'll see that quickly build during the 8:00. so far no incidents on this map. that's good news. from guantanamo bay to the bay area, today the berkeley city council is expected to decide whether to invite former guantanamo detainees to live here. christie smith is live with more. >> reporter: yes, a big vote is expected here in berkeley tonight. a lot of people are watching this very closely. this resolution was crafted by berkeley's peace and justice commission. and it would invite guantanamo

detainees to berkeley. those cleared of wrongdoing. they are reportedly looking at two people, a russian ballet dancer and an allgerian man who is also a chef. they say this is one way they can right the wrongs of government. if approved the men would live with berkeley families and a nonprofit group would help them find work. berkeley wouldn't pay out of its general fund according to "the chronicle." but it could hit a couple snags. one with the department of defense. the men have no passports, no visas or money. the city council is being asked to take no action at all on the detainees. there are still hurdles in place, assuming the men still want to come to berkeley, and the soonest they could come here would be september. christie smith for "today in the

east bay. the berkeley city council will also discuss allowing sex change operations and the city covering it. one woman had this done and believes the city should cover it. the city manager is looking into how much the change in policy would cost the city. b.a.r.t. will swear in four new police chaplains today in oakland. and they could be part of a dynamic new community policing program. "today in the east bay's" cheryl hurd will tell us why the men of cloth will soon be riding the rails. >> reporter: part of the riding the rails has nothing to do with religion. it is all about community solution. reverend watkins is riding the b.a.r.t. train with his 3-year-old granddaughter. starting this weekend he'll be an official chaplain for

b.a.r.t. for the first time in b.a.r.t.'s history the transit agency will have four chaplains available on call. >> we want to make sure our officers have a resource to deal with the stresses of the job in a constructive way. >> reporter: b.a.r.t. has been understressed and fired after one of their police officers shot an unarmed man on new year's day in 2009. adding volunteer chaplains to the force was planned way before that happened. >> we can get them resource cards and point them in the right direction and connect them with the right people, but sometimes people want a spiritual resource. that's where the chaplains come in. >> reporter: reverend watkins says his job will be there to serve the officers and the public. >> the main thing is to work with the police officers so they don't feel like they are by themselves. >> reporter: the swearing in

ceremony takes place this morning at 11:30. cheryl hurd reporting for "today in the east bay." the city is talking about dumping their waste in the keller landfill. the contract is up in 2015. pittsburgh wants the new contract. the trash would be brought to oakland by barge and then trucked to the landfill. the deal would pay pittsburgh a million dollars a year. today oakland teachers will rally calling on the government to bail out teachers instead of banks. half of oakland teachers who took part in a survey said they were either going through foreclosure or had students who were on the brink of being forced from their homes. they are asking banks like wells fargo to forgive both homeowner and school-system debts and pay for the upkeep of vacant lighted

properties. parents with sick children have until the end of the month to enroll their children in more affordable health insurance. this is by new rules set down by a new california law. after this deadline children with pre-existing conditions will still be covered but it could cost up to double what's charged to healthier kids. this morning health care experts and medical staff at the oakland children's hospital will present coverage options for bay area parents. that event kicks off at 10:00. we'll go to christina. it is just a mess this morning. a rainy drive to work for those of us who got up this early. good morning. good morning to you. yes, right now the showers are coming down predominantly over the east bay. good morning to you in the east bay. we are going to see a lot of rain. it looks like the bulk of the moisture from the next round of storms will come down heading through this evening and tonight. i'm going to time it out for you right now. we'll talk about what's happening in the east bay. showers are pushing onshore

right now. it looks like after we see this line of showers clear the area for the next couple of hours we'll see clearing for the first part of the morning. then as we head through this afternoon the clouds will increase once again. more rain on the way. and it looks like this is when to expect the bulk of the moisture to come through. 5:00 p.m. this is what it looks like, moderate rain in the north bay pushing to the east baby 9:00 p.m. a pretty good line of showers is expected. we could pick up to on an inch of rain throughout the night. back here tomorrow morning, still seeing showers, the saturated ground that won't help your commute tomorrow. more rain is on the way. get ready for that today. and more rain in the forecast. your extended is coming up. we'll check the drive for conditions out there. good morning to you, mike inouye. and an advantage for folks who get up early like us to get on the roadways. you might beat some of the problems in the evening before the big rain comes in. the cartinas and venetian bridges, no major issues coming

to or from the north bay commute heading to fairfield. a nice drive with a gust or two heading over the bridges. overnight we did see gusty winds, but things are now calming down. watch the maze where there's an 18-minute drive smooth down the east shore freeway. 880 is a nice drive through hayward. 880 at 92 is a construction zone. keep in mind just a lane or two are closed, no full closures. there's construction until 5:00 a.m. watch that. a live look at the san mateo bridge itself shows the camera shaking a bit. that means there are gusty winds still but nothing like a couple days ago. at least you can relax a little bit. back to you. how at risk are you of the women in your life getting heart disease? updated guidelines on what will increase a woman's chance of developing the deadly disease. paying with your credit card is fast and easy, but there are times when you should think twice about swiping the card. we'll explain.

and fashion lovers, now have the time to shop. why you should head to the mall early for your spring clothes. 3q lysol knows you work hard every day to help keep your family healthy, especially during cold and flu season. that's why we make lysol disinfectant spray. it is approved to kill more germs than any other brand, even h1n1. and it works on hard and soft surfaces to help keep your home healthy. lysol, the number one pediatrician recommended brand.

i was told that i was at risk for sudden cardiac death. i was 23 years old, i wasn't overweight. i never dreamed this would happen to me. when the doctor told me i had three blocked arteries, i felt like i was punched in the gut. i found out that one in three women die from heart disease. how did i not know that?

welcome back. you are looking at a live picture of oakland. we have a major storm moving in. it is already raining on the road. we'll check in with christina in a minute. meanwhile, man versus machine on jeopardy. so far it is a tie. here are the players. brad rudder, the all-time money winner, ken jennings, and an ibm computer. rudder and ibm are tied at $5,000. jennings has $2,000. the remainder of the game will be broadcast today. the second game tomorrow. the overall winner gets $1 million. let's go to christina and talk about the big storm moving in. >> good morning to you. we are keeping our eye on big-time showers approaching the bay area. we have light activity in the

east bay right now. and as we head throughout the day today we'll see a little bit of a break for the first part of the day. then the showers push onshore late this afternoon. this is what the timing looks like for the bulk of the moisture. a lot of rain is expected tonight between 5:00 p.m. and midnight. by 9:00 p.m. we have a really good line of showers approaching the east bay. so i would say by 10:00 tonight dangerous conditions on the roadways. keep that in mind as you wake up tomorrow morning. at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow we'll still have slick conditions out there. more rain is in the forecast every day this week, but we'll check road conditions now to get you to work on time. here's mike. good morning, christina. despite the overnight conditions and the rain we are okay in the outer reaches coming off the antioch bridge. no major problems through antioch from bay point to concord. highway 24 there's some construction right around the area sticking around for another 15 to 30 minutes. just watch for that. we also see slowing near highway

13 and westbound 24. no major issues, i'll follow this, but things are very light out there this morning. here's a live look out there at oakland. the rain is coming down. the water is kicking up off the roadway, so that will be an issue for your windshield. make sure the wipers are in good condition. the showers have been light overnight, but we still have puddles out there, so keep that in mind. get ready to shell out more for summer clothes. the average cost of clothes is up 10%. for more on why and other news before the bell, we turn to the woman we start our business day with each morning, cnbc's nicole lapin. >> reporter: thank you, scott. the era of falling clothing prices is over. they have dropped thanks to inflation and cheap overseas labor, but as the economy recovers and global demand for goods increases a surge in raw

material costs is really squeezing retailers and manufacturers. think about it, cotton prices has doubled in the past year. synthetic fabrics are up 50%. analysts think that clothing prices could rise even more, 10%, don't shoot the messenger, i know, in the upcoming months. brooks brothers has raised their prices on levi's and wranglers and dress shirts. nike plans to do the same thing. futures are a touch lower but stocks could be under pressure after fedex cut the earnings forecast citing disruptions from the snowstorms and rising fuel costs. wall street ended mixed on monday as investors weighed the obama budget proto sal. europe is near the flat line. we do have a lot of data out today.

retail sales and consumer sentiment are just a few. meanwhile, not a lot going on in vegas. there's not a lot of love in the air. sin city's wedding chapels are seeing less business these days. fewer than 92,000 couples got married last year. 92,000 sounds like a lot, but that's the lowest level since 1993. the wedding professionals blame the economy and ebbing interest in marriage in general. 5% of all u.s. wedding ceremonies are actually held near the vegas strip, go figure. so in good years they pump about $650 million into the local economy. one elvis at a time. >> nicole lapin at cnbc world headquarters there. the co-founder of the major social networking giant is trying to change the way we buy and sell things. jack sortian started twitter.

he has a square that attached to your mobile phone to allow you to take other people's money. the company says it is growing by about 60,000 merchants a month. there are some things you should not pay for with a credit card. creditcard.com says you will be charged a processing fee. the irs can set up a payment plan with a lower interest rate. also look at other ways to finance your college tuition, plastic surgery and weddings. planning ahead for future purchases and avoiding a bulk of spending will help you save in the long term. the bay area getting ready for a visit from president obama on thursday. he's expected to meet with high-tech execs to talk about job creation, green energy, education and invasion. no word on who he's meeting or whether any of the meetings will be public, but meantime on capitol hill the administration is facing a tough budget fight. nbc's tracie potts is in

washington with more. zbhr. >> reporter: unless congress acts money to run the federal government runs out march 4th. the house votes later this week on cutting $61 billion from what we are spending this year. the pentagon is worried. >> the damage done across our military from that reduction would be magnified. >> cuts of that level will be detrimental to america's national security. >> reporter: much of what we owe is paying for wars overseas. even democrats worry it costs way too much. >> america can no longer afford to police the word. >> reporter: president obama's new budget is up for scrutiny in several hearings today. >> we are tightening our belts to live within our means. >> the only way to truly tackle our deficits is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it. >> reporter: 3.7 trillion dollars. republicans call it irresponsible, pate patronizing and full of math. but first congress has less than

three weeks to deal with this year's budget and prevent a government shutdown. the last time that happened was in 1995. it lasted almost a month altogether and left hundreds of thousands of government workers without paychecks. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. coming up later on "today in the bay" we have laura here. >> good morning. we have a project to tell you about to make it easier to get in and out of the bay. it is getting a boost. we'll have a live report on that at the top of the hour. and your child could end up going further away for college. those stories, plus we are following the latest tension in tehran, iran, this morning. a little bit later "today in the bay" we'll have. that. new guidelines this morning for women trying to stay heart healthy. erika edwards takes a look for

us. >> reporter: you can read about it or hear about it on the news, but you may not get the best advice for you when it comes to preventing heart disease unless you get treatment from the right doctor. >> a lot of women in their 30s and 40s are thinking about heart disease to see their ob/gyn and are not thinking about seeing a heart doctor. >> reporter: doctors can assess a woman's level of income and intimacy levels. >> we know the good medicines people should be on but we don't really go to the next step which is why people are taking some of these medicines. >> reporter: rheumatoid arthritis is a heart risk factor as well as a certain history of pree clampsia and failing a

stress test. doctors must also consider the ethnic background of women. >> the number one stroke of an african-american woman is high blood pressure. >> reporter: a woman dies every minute in america from heart disease. we shouldn't waste another minute without getting our heart risk factors under control. erika edwards, nbc news. >> depression screenings should be also part of the evaluation. depression could affect whether women adhere to heart-healthy lifestyles and medication. venetian heights is going green this fall to launch a new academy called echo. the classes will focus on environmental education. the students have to take three specific classes during the three years in the program, including biology, a new environmental studies class and a senior seminar. christina has been looking at our weather all this morning. a big storm is coming in. good morning, christina.

>> good morning to you, scott scott. the good news is the storm is the biggest portion here that comes in this evening between 7:00 and 10:00 tonight. that's when we expect the moisture to pass through the east bay, but this morning we do have light scattered showers already coming down over the bay area. let's go ahead and zoom in where they are right now in the east bay. a pretty good cell is coming down past livermore headed off to the east. pretty much this is what we'll see heading through the next couple of hours. then a nice lull from the rain. it will be a pretty nice break for four or five hours. then more moisture on the way just in time for your evening commute. it will start in the torte north bay spread stock the east baby 6:00 tonight. the bulk will come through between 9:00 and 11:00 for the east bay. we could see an inch of rain in some cities. waking up tomorrow as we meet back here at 4:30 a.m., if you

are heading off to work at that time, you could see pretty treacherous conditions. mike i you will always be here to update you on that. it is that time of year, scott mcgrew. forget valentine's day, baseball love starts. the oakland a's start spring training for the 2011 season today. the expectations are high. a solid pitching staff is in place. pitchers and catchers report to arizona. position players report on sunday with the first full week of practice set for monday. starting pitchers for the 2011 season include trevor cayhill and brent anderson. the a's have a new head trainer and the hope is high to avoid damage from injuries this year. intriguing news from the raiders headquarters. the defensive back from the past is coming back to alameda. ron woodson played 17 years in the nfl, the final two with the raiders, now hugh jackson is bringing him on to work the

secondary. when he played for the raiders in 2002/2003 chuck reznahan was also there. he is also going to be back to coach the linebackers. he claimed the heart of a nation during last year's ncaa tournament. now the former st. mary standout is headed back to egypt. the former gail spent his summer playing for the egyptian team. you may remember his landmark run to the sweet 16. a danville native says he'll play in the all africa games on the egyptian team this summer. if all goes well you will see him at the 2012 olympics in london. his father is from egypt and he's going there for business. here's a live look at the golden gate bridge. our bob redell will have a live report on the weather coming up.

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new this morning, a bay area city talks about banning smoking in homes. we'll tell you who may have to quit. and b.a.r.t. could finally

be san jose bound. i'm marla tellez. i'll tell you what's happening that could extend the track to the south bay sooner than later coming up in a live report. taking a live look outside at the south bay this morning overlooking the hp pavilion. a wet start to your tuesday morning. christina has a look at your forecast. it is tuesday, february 15th. this is "today in the bay." good morning to you. thank you so much for joining us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm brent cannon. coming up at 5:00, the big story today is our weather. we are getting more rain through the area. and meteorologist christina loren is tracking what's going on. good morning to you. yes, after a long dry spell the winter weather is back. and this morning we are starting to see a little bit of shower activity develop in the south bay. now some showers are coming down in the east bay. and this will be the case